Naperville Park District has invited volunteers to help plant trees, shrubs, perennials and seed to complete the new pollinator gardens at the Ron Ory Community Garden Plots that are being partially funded by a 2018 Pollinator Habitat Conservation grant from Trees Forever, an environmental nonprofit organization based in Iowa and Illinois. Planting will take place at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Ron Ory Community Garden Plots, 811 S. West Street in Naperville.
The $1,000 grant is helping the Naperville Park District enhance the habitat for monarch butterflies, bees, and other pollinators at the Garden Plots. The pollinator planting project will repurpose several vacant or underused areas of the Garden Plots, including adding pollinator-friendly trees, shrubs and perennials to an area bordering Sportsman’s Park, converting unused garden plots to a garden of flowering perennials, and planting pollinator-friendly plants along the fence line garden.
The Naperville Park District is committed to environmental stewardship and environmental education as part of its core values. As the plight of honeybees and Monarch butterflies hit national headlines, the Park District and its partners began to take measures to support these pollinators. For example, since May 2014, the Park District has kept several colonies of honey bees in the organic section of the Ron Ory Community Garden Plots. As of September 2018, the District maintains five Monarch Waystations.